Golden Spikes Award

Last updated
Golden Spikes Award
GoldenSpikesAward.png
Logo for the Golden Spikes Award
Awarded forAmateur baseball's best regular season player
CountryUnited States
Presented by USA Baseball
History
First award1978
Most recent Dylan Crews, LSU
Website Golden Spikes Award

The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. [1] The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to an amateur player who best exhibits and combines "exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship". [2] [3] The award is considered the most prestigious in amateur baseball. [4] [5]

Contents

Ten winners of the Golden Spikes Award are members of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, [6] including Bob Horner, the inaugural winner in 1978. [7] In that same year, he was the first overall MLB draft pick and proceeded to win the Rookie of the Year Award. [8] [9] [10] Seven Golden Spikes Award winners went on to become the first overall MLB draft pick. [8] Only Horner achieved the MLB Rookie of the Year Award in the same year (although Jason Jennings and Buster Posey were voted the top rookies of the National League several years after winning the Golden Spikes Award). [9] Jim Abbott, Jered Weaver and Tim Lincecum are the only award winners to pitch an MLB no-hitter, [11] while Horner is the only one to hit four home runs in one MLB game. [12] Furthermore, 17 players won the Dick Howser Trophy (considered to be the Heisman Trophy of college baseball) [13] [14] alongside the Golden Spikes Award. [15] No player has won the award more than once, and no Golden Spikes recipient has yet been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The winner has been announced annually during a live broadcast of ESPN's SportsCenter since 2014. [16] Immediately following the announcement, the award winner and the other finalists are honored at a banquet in Los Angeles. [16] The most recent recipient of the award is Ivan Melendez of the University of Texas Baseball. Although it can be given to any amateur player, the award has always been given to a college baseball player.

Winners

Bob Horner, who won the inaugural Golden Spikes Award in 1978, also received the Rookie of the Year Award and was the first overall MLB draft pick in the same year. Bob Horner.jpg
Bob Horner, who won the inaugural Golden Spikes Award in 1978, also received the Rookie of the Year Award and was the first overall MLB draft pick in the same year.
Jered Weaver, the 2004 recipient, is one of three award winners to pitch a no-hitter. Jered Weaver on June 27, 2012.jpg
Jered Weaver, the 2004 recipient, is one of three award winners to pitch a no-hitter.
Tim Lincecum, the 2006 winner, received the Cy Young Award in 2008 and 2009. Tim Lincecum 2009.jpg
Tim Lincecum, the 2006 winner, received the Cy Young Award in 2008 and 2009.
Key
YearLinks to the article about the corresponding baseball year
PlayerName of the player
PositionThe player's position(s) at the time he won the award [lower-alpha 1]
SchoolThe player's college when he won the award
ItalicsPlayer was the first overall MLB draft pick in the same year
^Player won the Rookie of the Year Award [lower-alpha 2]
§Player also won the Dick Howser Trophy in the same year
†Member of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame
‡Player is active [lower-alpha 3]
Winners
YearPlayerPositionSchoolRef.
1978 Bob Horner †^ 3B Arizona State [7]
1979 Tim Wallach † 3B Cal State Fullerton [7]
1980 Terry Francona † 1B Arizona [7]
1981 Mike Fuentes OF Florida State [19]
1982 Augie Schmidt SS New Orleans [7]
1983 Dave Magadan † 3B Alabama [7]
1984 Oddibe McDowell † OF Arizona State [20]
1985 Will Clark † 1B Mississippi State [7]
1986 Mike Loynd P Florida State [7]
1987 Jim Abbott † P Michigan [21]
1988 Robin Ventura †§ 3B Oklahoma State [22]
1989 Ben McDonald † P LSU [23]
1990 Alex Fernández § P Miami-Dade Community College [7]
1991 Mike Kelly OF Arizona State [7]
1992 Phil Nevin 3B Cal State Fullerton [7]
1993 Darren Dreifort † P Wichita State [7]
1994 Jason Varitek § C Georgia Tech [24]
1995 Mark Kotsay OF Cal State Fullerton [24]
1996 Travis Lee 1B San Diego State [25]
1997 J. D. Drew § OF Florida State [26]
1998 Pat Burrell 3B Miami (FL) [27]
1999 Jason Jennings §^ P Baylor [24]
2000 Kip Bouknight P South Carolina [24]
2001 Mark Prior § P Southern California [28]
2002 Khalil Greene § SS Clemson [24]
2003 Rickie Weeks § 2B Southern [24]
2004 Jered Weaver § P Long Beach State [24]
2005 Alex Gordon § 3B Nebraska [29]
2006 Tim Lincecum P Washington [30]
2007 David Price ठP Vanderbilt [31]
2008 Buster Posey §^ C Florida State [32]
2009 Stephen Strasburg ठP San Diego State [33]
2010 Bryce Harper ‡^ C/OF College of Southern Nevada [34]
2011 Trevor Bauer ‡ P UCLA [35]
2012 Mike Zunino ठC Florida [3]
2013 Kris Bryant ‡§^ 3B San Diego [36]
2014 A. J. Reed § 1B/P Kentucky [37]
2015 Andrew Benintendi ठOF Arkansas [38]
2016 Kyle Lewis ‡^ OF Mercer [39]
2017 Brendan McKay ठ1B / P Louisville [40]
2018 Andrew Vaughn ‡ 1B California [41]
2019 Adley Rutschman ठC Oregon State [42]
2020 Not awarded [lower-alpha 4] —— [43]
2021 Kevin Kopps ठP Arkansas [44]
2022 Ivan Melendez ठ1B Texas [45]
2023Dylan CrewsOFLSU

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This does not necessarily reflect the player's future position at Major League level. For example, Alex Gordon was originally a third baseman, but subsequently moved to left field in 2010. [18]
  2. ↑ Won either in the same year or several years later.
  3. ↑ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season.
  4. ↑ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic

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References

General

Specific

  1. ↑ Drellich, Evan (June 6, 2011). "Golden Spikes Award field narrows to three". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ "The official site of the Golden Spikes Award – About the Golden Spikes Award". Golden Spikes Award. USA Baseball. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Finkelstein, Zachary (July 6, 2012). "Zunino named Golden Spikes Award winner". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved August 5, 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ Berry, Adam (June 5, 2012). "Appel, Zunino among Golden Spikes finalists". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  5. ↑ Huffman, Dane (June 5, 2012). "NC State pitcher a finalist for Golden Spikes Award". NBC17.com. NBC. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ "College Baseball Hall of Fame – Hall of Famers". CollegeBaseballHall.com. College Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Shocks' Dreifort chosen for Golden Spikes award". Lawrence Journal-World. Associated Press. October 28, 1993. p. 4C. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "1st Picks Overall in the MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Rookie of the Year Awards & Rolaids Relief Award Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  10. ↑ Sugiura, Ken (May 6, 2010). "Nine questions: Bob Horner". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ajc.com. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  11. ↑ "MLB No-Hitters". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  12. ↑ "National League; Horner Ties Mark with 4 Home Runs". New York Times . July 7, 1986. p. C4.
  13. ↑ "Houston pitcher Lincoln wins Howser Trophy". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. June 17, 2006. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  14. ↑ Martin, Jeffrey (July 2, 2010). "Rice's Rendon claims prestigious Dick Howser Trophy". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Dick Howser Trophy". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  16. 1 2 "USA Baseball Names 2017 Golden Spikes Award Finalists" (Press release). USA Baseball. June 14, 2017. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  18. ↑ Kaegel, Dick (November 2, 2011). "Gordon takes home first Gold Glove". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012. Alex Gordon, a third baseman for the Royals until last year, is now among baseball's elite outfielders...[H]is switch from third base to the outfield in 2010 went amazingly well.
  19. ↑ Elliott, Bob (December 10, 1981). "Montreal prospect Fuentes wins Golden Spikes award". Ottawa Citizen. p. 2C. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  20. ↑ "McDowell Given Golden Spikes Baseball Award". The Press-Courier. Oxnard, California. Associated Press. November 8, 1984. p. 16. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Michigan pitcher wins Golden Spikes Award". The Gainesville Sun. October 9, 1987. p. 3D. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Ventura wins Golden Spikes Award". The Telegraph. Nashua, New Hampshire. Associated Press. November 2, 1988. p. 17. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  23. ↑ "McDonald selected Golden Spikes winner". The Times Daily. Florence, Alabama. November 10, 1989. p. 2B. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Programs & Events – Golden Spikes – Jered Weaver wins 2004 Golden Spikes Award". MLB Players Association. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Lee wins Golden Spikes Award as top amateur". The News. Boca Raton, Florida. November 13, 1996. p. 2B. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  26. ↑ "Drew wins Golden Spikes Award". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. Associated Press. November 12, 1997. p. 3C. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Burrell wins Golden Spikes Award". The Gainesville Sun. October 30, 1998. p. 2C. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Prior wins Golden Spikes Award". The Beaver County Times. December 11, 2001. p. B7. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Nebraska's Gordon wins Golden Spikes Award". USA Today. Associated Press. June 24, 2005. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  30. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (June 23, 2006). "Lincecum named Golden Spikes winner". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Former Vanderbilt star Price named nation's top amateur player". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. June 30, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  32. ↑ Hoch, Bryan (July 16, 2008). "Giants pick nabs Golden Spikes Award". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  33. ↑ "Strasburg garners another award". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. July 14, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Harper wins Golden Spikes Award". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. July 13, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  35. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (July 15, 2011). "D-backs Draft pick Bauer wins Golden Spikes". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  36. ↑ "San Diego's Bryant wins 36th Golden Spikes Award as nation's best player". USA Baseball. NCAA.com. July 20, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-09-08. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  37. ↑ Fordin, Spencer (July 17, 2014). "Astros' prospect Reed wins Golden Spikes Award". MLB.com . Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Benintendi wins Golden Spikes Award". USA Baseball. NCAA.com. June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Mercer's Kyle Lewis wins the Golden Spikes Award". USA Baseball. NCAA.com. June 30, 2016. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Louisville's Brendan McKay Wins 2017 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award" (Press release). USA Baseball. June 29, 2017. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  41. ↑ "Andrew Vaughn becomes Cal's first Golden Spikes winner". SFChronicle.com. 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  42. ↑ Nick Daschel (June 14, 2019). "Oregon State's Adley Rutschman claims the 2019 Golden Spikes Award, nation's top individual honor for amateur baseball". www.oregonlive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  43. ↑ Collazo, Carlos (April 14, 2020). "USA Baseball Will Not Name 2020 Golden Spikes Award Winner". Baseball America . Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Kevin Kopps Wins 2021 Golden Spikes Award". 15 July 2021.
  45. ↑ "Texas' Ivan Melendez wins 2022 Golden Spikes Award, first in program history | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.

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